City of Secrets
by Qwerty616120
Summary: Percy and his friends have escaped MIST Academy, but they're far from safe. Kronos's death has outraged powerful enemies, and the teens are forced to pick sides in a battle that has been raging for years. Home is transformed from a safe haven to a dangerous battlefield as lives are changed forever. (Sequel to School of Secrets; the 2nd installment to the Secrets Trilogy.)
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the first chapter of **_**City of Secrets! **_**:) ****If you have not read **_**School of Secrets**_**, I STRONGLY suggest you go read that first. ****This story won't make much sense unless you've read it. For my older readers: I want this story to be a little more evenly paced than **_**School of Secrets **_**was, so this one will be a little longer. Also, at some parts of this story most of you will probably go **_**Qwerty, what on earth are you thinking? **_**You guys are gonna have to trust me- all the chapters are planned out and such, so I'm not just randomly pounding this stuff out. It has a purpose, I promise! Shout outs: (These are taken from reviews in the last chapter of **_**School of Secrets**_**) **

**Myusernameisorigional- ****Just a warning: there will be many cliffys over the next two storys… sorry :( On the bright side, I update pretty quickly usually, so you probably won't have to wait long! **

**8EternallyMortal8- ****I'm writing as fast as I can! ;) **

**PepsiCola541- ****It's been two days, that's not too bad, right? ;) Also- I'm in the U.S. too, so there isn't any time difference and na, I don't really find lol annoying **_**unless**_** people use it as a word. Have you ever heard people do that? It drives me crazy! Is it really that hard to just laugh? Ok, sorry for that mini-rant. And as to the titan thing- I wish I could tell you…but I can't. It's a big part of the plot… although if I remember correctly you find out in Chapter 9 (I'd have to check my chapter outline to be sure, but I think it's somewhere around there) **

**Disclaimer: Wanna hear a secret? *whispers* I own nothing… except the plot! **

Percy's POV

I don't know what I'd been expecting the wheelchair man to say, but I wasn't expecting that. I looked over at Annabeth, who looked as shocked as I did. I still felt like to clearing was spinning- this man was not only claiming my dad was alive, but claiming to _know _him. My dad had been lost at sea years ago… at least, I though he had been.

Over the last few months I had learned that nothing is ever as it appears. I'd been sent to a boarding school (The MIST Academy) run by Luke Castellan and the Titan Kronos. What's a Titan, you ask? Good question- I'll tell you when _I _find out.

Anyway, The MIST Academy had seemed like the perfect school, but beneath it's glittering surface it had a rotten core. You see, MIST stands for _Missing Intellect of Special Talents. _It sounded fancy, but it pretty much meant that the school rounded up all the unique kids it could find and stole their powers. They had this special machine called the Altering Chair that leeched your power and put it in the form of a pill.

Headmaster Luke's grand plan had been to collect all the pills, take them, and then use his powers to take revenge on all the people who had cast him out. Specifically, his parents. In the end, it turned out Kronos had been using him for his own purposes, although none of us have any idea what Kronos's real motive might have been.

Whatever Kronos's plan might have been, Annabeth (my best friend and girlfriend) knew something was up and formulated an escape plan. It had been going fine until Annabeth had gotten the brilliant idea to return for Luke, figuring Kronos had blackmailed him into being evil or something. Luke and Annabeth go way back, and she had been pretty firm in her belief that there still was some good in him. (What? Pfft, no, I'm not jealous about that!)

Long story short, I went back and rescued Annabeth, and accidentally killed Kronos. Now, we had escaped, only to have wheelchair guy tell us we had jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

"Why should we believe you?" Annabeth asked cautiously when I remained silent.

"Because you have no other choice," wheelchair guy said seriously, looking her straight in the eye. She hesitated, and then looked to me. Using facial expressions, we had a silent conversation.

_ Should we trust him? _She asked silently. _We didn't come this far to trust strangers, after all. _

_ He said he knows my dad. Maybe he knows what Kronos meant about my bloodline. _In my mind, the decision was made up. I had to jump at any opportunity to learn more about my dad. Annabeth gave me a long look, and then nodded slowly.

"Alright, we'll come with you," she said. Some of our companions (other former MIST students who had escaped with us) looked like they disagreed, but they didn't argue with Annabeth. (Trust me, she can be pretty scary when she wants to be.) Wheelchair guy looked relieved, and then turned and motioned for us to follow him. We followed hesitantly, following his lead and staying quiet.

"Look, if we're gonna trust you, at least tell us your name," whispered one of our friends harshly. Her name was Reyna, and she's cautious by nature. Wheelchair man hesitated for a moment, than answered without looking back.

"Chiron," he said shortly. Annabeth and I exchanged a look, both thinking the same thing: _First Kronos, now Chiron. Both mythical names. _

Annabeth motioned for me to slow down, and I obliged 'til we were both trailing in the back of the group.

"If he makes any move to attack, we run. Agreed?" She whispered.

"Yeah," I muttered, wincing as a stray branch brushed against my bruised side. Annabeth and I had both been injured in the fight with Luke and Kronos, and were in no shape to fight Chiron if he turned out to be a threat.

"I know you want to know more about your dad, I'm just wary to trust him," she said to me in a undertone.

"Thanks," I replied quietly. Annabeth shrugged.

"If I were offered the chance to find out more about my birth mom, I'd jump at the chance, too."

"Your birth mom?" I asked. I knew a lot about Annabeth, but she rarely talked about her family life.

"She left us when I was a baby," Annabeth explained quietly, not meeting my gaze. I wanted to say sorry, but I knew it would sound hollow. I knew how it felt, to have a parent leave so soon after your birth. I'd spent a lot of my life wondering if I was the reason my dad didn't have the guts to stick around and marry my mom. So instead of offering half-baked apologies, I just slid my hand into hers and squeezed it lightly. She shot me a grateful look, but jerked her head back around when the group suddenly stopped.

We were standing in front of a rickety, unstable looking bridge that connected the small island we were on to the main land. We were also crouched behind some bushes, hiding from two stout creatures by the bridge.

"Earth-bounds," Chiron muttered darkly, looking at the creatures. I followed his gaze back to the creatures, and as the rising sun hit them, I struggled not to gag.

If you've never seen an earth-bound, you're lucky. They were like clay people, with blocky legs and arms, but with black eyes that seemed empty and unfocused, and one blood-red eye in the middle. The poor excuse for clothes they had draped over their bodies was a strange array of animal furs and old newspapers, and the stench… oh gods, was a shower and a toothbrush such a terrible idea?

"What are they doing?" Asked Annabeth, her voice sounding strange. When I turned to look at her, I saw she was pinching her nose closed. "Trying to stop us from leaving?"

"No, child," Chiron corrected. "They were here to stop you from _arriving._"

"What?"

"They can't have people walking to the heart of the island," Chiron explained.

"They really need those things to ward of some lost tourist?" Annabeth scoffed quietly, looking dubious.

"They do not fear mortals, child."

"Then what are they guarding against?" Annabeth pressed, but Chiron just shook his head.

"That isn't important right now. Right now we need to get you off the island."

"How did you even know we were here?" Asked Reyna suddenly, eyeing Chiron suspiciously.

"I was sent," was all Chiron would say.

"Ok," Annabeth sighed, abandoning her inquiries for now. "So how do we get rid of them?"

"Watch and learn," Chiron said smoothly, rolling his wheelchair right into the middle of the path. "Hello," he called to the earth-bounds cheerfully.

"He's insane," muttered Annabeth.

"Oh, completely," agreed another one of our companions, Thalia Grace. (Who happened, by the way, to be a good friend of Annabeth's and my cousin.) We watched as the earth-bounds turned to Chiron, yelling something in a strange language before charging.

For giant clay creature, they moved incredibly fast. _Inhumanly fast._ Chiron didn't even bat an eye as he pulled a bow from behind his wheelchair that none of us had noticed before, sliding an arrow into place, and shooting the first earth-bound straight through it's red eye with a easy, practiced motion. The creature didn't bleed or cry out, but the red eye turned the same dull black as the other two and it slumped to the ground, dead.

The other hesitated briefly, but Chiron quickly led it to the same fate as the one it's brother had suffered.

"Come on, don't just sit there gaping." Chiron urged, rolling his wheelchair to the edge of the bridge. "Re-enforcements will be here soon."

"How? You killed them both- there's no one to warn the others," Reyna objected, but when I looked back to the dull black eyes, a chill ran through me. I had a bad feeling someone knew exactly what had just happened, and whoever it was, I didn't want to meet them.

Chiron led us quickly across the bridge, which surprisingly held up well, and lead us into the sleeping city of Manhattan. I looked over my shoulder at the desolate island we had just left and suddenly a thought occurred to me.

"Chiron?"

"Yes, Percy?"

"Why don't the people around here notice a large, evil island just off the coast?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, they can't see it." Chiron said, dismissing my question easily. "Let us hope they never do," he continued under him breath. I got the feeling I shouldn't have heard that last part, but I did anyway. _How can an entire city miss an entire island? And how could they just wake up one morning and see it? _I wondered, but I didn't ask. I was too confused already.

"Goodbye," Chiron said suddenly, wheeling his wheelchair around.

"What, what?" I asked.

"No! We still have questions!" Cried Annabeth at the same time.

"These things are out of your control, Annabeth." Chiron said gently, although I couldn't remember Annabeth ever telling him her name. "Go home."

"I can't," Annabeth said, her voice breaking a bit on the last word. I had no idea what she was talking about, but apparently Chiron did.

"I'm sure one of your friends will shelter you for the time being," Chiron reassured her. "Goodbye."

And with that, Chiron was gone, leaving us with far more questions than answers.

**So, **_**City of Secrets **_**is officially underway! Just in this first chapter, it's obvious things aren't quite right in Manhattan. Also, I never mentioned this in the beginning, but thanks so much to all of you. Your reviews for **_**School of Secrets **_**were so encouraging, and you guys really seemed excited to see a sequel. It really motivated me and just absolutely made my day. :) Anyway, reviewer's question: Best reviewer's questions? I'm running out. :( I'll give you credit for any you submit that I use! Until next time! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! This chapter greatly lacks exciting action and cute romance, but it's just as important to the story. The characters are still kind of beat up from the **_**School of Secrets **_**finale, and need a chance to regroup and work some things out, so unfortunately, this chapter is necessary. There will be lots of action and PERCABETH in the next chapter though! :) Shout outs: **

**PepsiCola541- ****Your guess is close, but not quite spot on. They are demigods, but they also aren't. Ok, that made no sense. :P I'm not sure how to explain it without giving the plot away… ok, they are demigods, but not the same way as RR writes them… does that make any sense? Probably not… oh, well. As to my organization skills, I do like to be organized ;) Although I didn't have a chapter outline for **_**School of Secrets**_** (Simply because when I started writing it, I didn't expect people to want a sequel!) And your **_**Reopened Chapters **_**cliffy KILLED ME, by the way. Oh, and would you be interested in co-writing a story with me? Just a thought… (Gods, that was a long shout out!) **

**Guest- ****Thanks so much for coming back and reviewing anyways! :) And there will be major Percabeth in the next chapter ;) **

**MarMar5678- ****Thalia and Percy do know they're cousins- it was mentioned once in **_**School of Secrets, **_**but very briefly. Sorry for the confusion :( **

**Disclaimer: Nope, nada, no, I do not own anything… but the plot! *sniffs pathetically* **

Annabeth's POV

Chiron had left me overly confused, but I didn't let it show. It was early in the morning, we were all exhausted, and currently we were all in the streets. The sensible part of my mind (the part that wasn't fried by recent events) went into autopilot, springing into action.

"We need to get inside, find a place to stay," I heard myself say. The others nodded mutely, evidently also confused by Chiron's words.

"Who lived here in Manhattan before they were sent off to the MIST Academy?" Asked Percy, following my train of thought. A few hands went up- Thalia, Grover, Percy, and Rachel were all Manhattan residents.

"Ok," I said, thinking. "Until we can all get home- wherever home may be- we'll have to be temporary roommates again. Thalia, Nico and Reyna will stay with you. Grover, you'll take Leo and Piper. Rachel, you take Frank and Hazel."

"What about you?" Asked Percy, frowning. "You don't live in Manhattan, do you?"

"No," I admitted. "I live in San Francisco."

"California?" Gasped Percy, and I knew why it bothered him. California was across the country, and a long distance relationship was going to be difficult.

"Yep, California," I sighed. Percy still looked uneasy, but pushed it aside.

"Well, you still need a place to stay for the night," he said firmly. "Er- day, I guess. You know what I mean!" He rambled.

"Percy, I need to get home-"

"How? And in the condition you're in? No way. You can stay with my mom and me until you're better," he said, considering the matter closed. Leo made a cat whistle from the background.

"I dunno," Leo teased. "Maybe we should break the happy couple up. Who knows what they'd do-" he broke off when Thalia smacked him over the head.

"Leo!" I scolded, my face tomato red. Percy looked much the same way. "You're sure your mom won't mind?" I asked, turning back to Percy.

"Nah, she'll love you," Percy said confidently.

"Ok," I relented. The group split up, heading our separate ways. No one said goodbye, but we were all thinking it. We were pretty spread out across the country- Percy and I were a good example- and who knew if our friendships would survive. Then again, Chiron seemed to think that our adventure wasn't over yet.

I followed Percy down the winding streets of Manhattan, exhausted.

"We're almost there," he told me, the bags under his eyes showing he felt much the same way. The brief nap I'd gotten on the plane hadn't restored my energy fully, and my body ached from various bruises and scratches. Percy led me to a tall apartment building. It wasn't an overly fancy apartment building, but it was nice enough to be called a home.

"It's not much," Percy said as he led me to the elevators, guessing my thoughts. "But it's home." I nodded slightly, following him. We leaned against the elevator walls, our bruised bodies aching for rest.

The maid in the elevator looked pretty freaked out, examining the two exhausted and beat up teens she was sharing the elevator with. When the elevator door opened with a small _ding _she shot out the door, happy to get away from Percy and I. Percy shot me a look, laughing, then stopped abruptly as if laughing hurt. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to a tan door with _Jackson _scrawled on it. Pulling a key from under the matt, he opened the door.

"Paul?" Called a voice from the apartment as the door slid open.

"Hi, Mom," called Percy. "Who's Paul?" At his words a tall woman with long brown hair and a sun-tanned face (who I assumed was Percy's mom) emerged from what looked like the kitchen.

"Percy!" She cried, embracing him. Percy winced as she hugged him, his bruised ribs probably hurting, but didn't push his mom away. Despite the pain, he looked happy to see his mom.

While son and mother greeted each other, I examined the apartment. It was small and had a homey touch to it. The light blue walls and worn brown couch made up the living room, and a blue hallway lead of to what I assumed must be the bedrooms and bathroom. The kitchen smelled like fresh-baked cookies and a small sign on the wall read _Home is were the heart is. _Percy was right- it wasn't much, but I loved it instantly. It seemed to scream home. The fluffy couch and fresh baked cookie smell- my home never had that.

"Who is this?" Asked Percy's mom, interrupting my thoughts. "She looks as beat up as you! What _happened?" _She fretted, taking me by the shoulders and examining me.

"Mom, this is Annabeth," Percy said. "My girlfriend." Mrs. Jackson seemed to freeze at his words before a large smile over took her face. By the way her eyes crinkled up at the corners, it was clear she smiled a lot.

"Nice to meet you, Annabeth," Mrs. Jackson said sincerely.

"You too, Mrs. Jackson," I smiled. Mrs. Jackson waved a hand dismissively.

"Sally is fine. Take a seat, you two, and tell me what happened." We obliged, sitting at a rectangular table near the kitchen, and Sally quickly whipped up a plate of…where those _blue _chocolate chip cookies? Percy immediately grabbed one, telling our story to Sally. She was a great listener, gasping and awing at just the right times. My mind flashed to my stepmom- I was pretty sure she never asked what I'd been doing. Sally was like the polar opposite.

"Thank you for taking care of my son, Annabeth," Sally said, smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back.

"No problem, although he doesn't always make it easy!" I snorted, casting a teasing glance at Percy, who pretended to frown indignantly.

"Hey! I'm very, uh… safe." He stammered. "Ok, fine. Told you Mom would like you." He added, smiling at me.

"You two must be exhausted," Sally said, collecting the now-empty cookie plate. "Annabeth did you get a cookie, honey?"

"No, ma'am, but it's fine," I said quickly. Sally cast a disproving look at her son.

"Percy," she scolded. Percy shrugged sheepishly. "I'll make more later," Sally decided. "For now, you both need rest. Percy, show Annabeth to the guest room, please. I'm going to run to the pharmacy and grab some medicine and painkillers- you both could use them!" She told us, getting up and grabbing her purse.

"Thanks Sally," I yawned, exhausted.

"My pleasure, dear," Sally said gently. "Get some rest." Then she turned and left the apartment. Percy stood up and led me to a small cream-colored room. There was a window, a small twin bed with a blue quilt, and a closet and desk in the corner. There was also a shelf on the wall full of photo albums, which I knew I would enjoy looking through later.

"Uh, it's not much, but-" Percy began, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. I cut him off with a light kiss.

"It's perfect," I told him, and I meant it. This, what he had- this was a home. He smiled at me, looking pleased.

"I'm glad you like it," he said softly, giving me another kiss. "'Night, Wise Girl." Then he left the room, closing the door softly behind him. I fell on the bed, to tired to even take off my shoes, and sleep overcame me instantly.

**Meh. Kind of a slow, boring chapter, but oh well. In other news, I have a new story called **_**Not so Mortal After All, **_**and it's a story where you submit the characters. Check it out please! Reviewer's question: If Sally was a demigod (Just play pretend with me for a moment here) who do you think her godly parent would be? And don't say Poseidon, because that would be beyond weird. I'd say Hestia. Until next time! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hola, everybody! I'm back! :) Percabeth in this chapter as promised, as well as some action at the end. Yay! Shout outs: **

**Myusernameisoriginal- ****Yeah, I'm not too proud of the last chapter, but I'm glad you liked it! And trust me, you see more of Sally later on :) You'll know what I mean when the story gets to that point. ;)**

**PepsiCola541- ****Don't apologize for your cliffy- I certainly write them all the time! (as demonstrated in this chapter…) Besides, nothing keeps readers reading like cliffys. And yeah, my clues weren't very clear, I guess :( **

**MarMar5678- ****Don't worry about it :) I just kind of mentioned it in passing, anyway. **

**Wisdom's daughter- ****You speak Greek? Ok, I'm officially jealous… **

**8EternallyMortal8- ****Good question! I'll explain the best I can- for one thing, Percy and Thalia knew each other **_**before**_** they went to the MIST Academy. Also, Sally would have told them they were related. Hope that clears that up, I never really clarified that in **_**School of Secrets. **_**:( Sorry 'bout that! **

**Disclaimer: Um, yeah, no. RR owns all. **

Percy's POV

A week flew by, and Annabeth and I spent it healing. Mom bought us some medicine called "Ambrosia & Nectar" from who-knows-where (she wouldn't tell us, for some reason), but whatever that stuff was, it tasted amazing and speed up our healing incredibly fast. By the end of the week, Annabeth and I were good as new.

Mom loved Annabeth immediately, of course, and often they would do chores around the house, talking about how impossible I could be.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Asked Annabeth suddenly, jerking me from my thoughts. I looked over to my girlfriend, who was lounged on my bed holding the book she'd just finished in one hand.

"Just…stuff," I said, shrugging. Annabeth hesitated for a moment, like she was contemplating telling me something.

"Percy," she began carefully.

"Yeah?"

"Now that I'm better… well, I'm grateful to you and your mom for letting me stay here and all, but I should be getting home." Annabeth said, looking pained.

"Back to California?" I asked softly, not really surprised. I expected her to announce something like this for the last few days- not that it made it any easier.

"Back to California," she echoed, looking unhappy. It was weird, Annabeth never really looked happy when she mentioned home. She looked more… uncertain. Reluctant. Most of the time, she just didn't bring it up at all, which was fine by me. Whatever kept her here in New York longer. Now that I knew she planned on leaving soon, though, I found myself slightly curious.

"What's it like? Your home, I mean," I asked suddenly. Annabeth shifted uncomfortably at my question, but answered me anyway.

"Not like your home," she muttered. Something about her tone of voice told me that wasn't a good thing, but she continued before I could say anything.

"You know my mom left us," she said, and I nodded. "Well, my dad remarried this Asian woman. They had kids- Bobby and Matthew- and kind of forgot about me. I always made Dad and his new wife uncomfortable- I was just another reminder that my dad had been with another woman before. So, I took a hint and left. I haven't been home since… well, since I was seven years old."

"You ran away when you were seven years old?" I gasped, staring at her. "How on earth did you end up at the MIST Academy?"

"I ran into Luke," Annabeth said tightly. "He and Thalia were also runaways, and they took me with them. Luke said-" Annabeth broke off and took a deep breath before continuing. "Luke said they would be my new family. Grover joined us not much later, and we eventually ran into one of Kronos's buddies. He took us to the MIST Academy, and Luke… well, you know the story from there." I shifted uncomfortably- Luke was a touchy subject still, and I felt like I was walking on ice that might break at any moment.

"And you still want to go home?" I asked softly.

"Not really," Annabeth admitted. "But maybe things have changed." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than me, so I didn't say anything.

"If you're leaving soon, I'm taking you out on a real date first," I informed her. She raised an eyebrow, obviously happy to change the subject. "Think about it! We've been dating for what, a month? But we've never gone on a real date," I insisted.

"More like two weeks, but ok," Annabeth grinned. "Where are we going?" I thought about it for a moment.

"How about lunch and a movie?" I asked.

"Sounds great," She smiled. "Let me change into some nicer clothes, then we can go." I nodded as she left my room, determined to push Annabeth's news from my mind and enjoy our date.

-Line Break-

Annabeth and I decided to eat at 5 Guys, a burger place down the street. It was right next to a great ice cream place and relatively close to the movie theater, not to mention it was the perfect place for a casual date. We found a seat, waiting for our food and just enjoying each other's company. It felt nice to relax and not worry about anything for once.

"So, what movie?" Annabeth asked, grinning at me.

"I hear Monsters University is out…" I wheedled. Annabeth laughed at me, her eyes bright.

"That movie is for kids who are, like, eight years old," she teased me.

"So?" I begged. "C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"Watching a kids movie?"

"Why not?"

"Well…fine. But next time, _I'm _picking the movie," she caved, and I grinned triumphantly. Plus, that "next time" sounded pretty promising.

"Fair enough," I conceded.

"39, your order is ready!" Called out the guy behind the cash register. He was handsome, I guess, judging by how many girls were staring at him. Annabeth didn't seem interested, thank gods. Checking the receipt, I saw we were number 39.

"That's us," I told her.

"I'll get it," she said, getting up before I could protest that since _I_ was the guy _I_ should get the food. When she got to the counter, she grabbed the bag and cashier man handed her a slip of paper. She snapped something at him and he said something back, winking at her. I was about to go give him a piece of my mind when Annabeth turned around and walked back to me, dropping the paper he'd handed her into the trash can in the process. She returned to our table, looking furious.

"What was the paper for?" I asked.

"It was his _number,_" she spat, looking disgusted. "As if I'd _ever _call a guy like him!" I was torn between being privately delighted by how repulsive she found him, and going and giving the guy a heart-felt punch in the face.

"Here," I said when I noticed cashier guy was still checking her out from across the room. I leaned over and kissed her quickly, enjoying the shocked look that spread across cashier man's face. She grinned.

"Was that to get the message across to him?" She asked slyly.

"Maybe," I said evasively. "And maybe it was just 'cuz I wanted to kiss you," I finished, grinning as I took a bite out of my double cheeseburger. Annabeth ducked her head, but I still caught a glimpse of the smile that spread across her face.

We finished out meal quickly and headed over to the ice cream place next door. Annabeth got a scoop of strawberry ice cream, while I got blue cotton candy ice cream with blue gummy bears and blue sprinkles. We decided to walk over to the movie theater, since it was so close, and eat our ice cream on the way. While we were walking, Annabeth mentioned something about a guy driving backwards, and when I turned to look, she swiped a spoonful of my ice cream.

"Hey!" I protested when I realized what she'd done. Annabeth just shot me a grin and popped the ice cream in her mouth. The joke was on her, though, when she tasted it.

"Oh, gods, that's _way _too sweet," she choked.

"I like it," I winked, swiping a spoonful of her ice cream.

"Mm, strawberry," I said around my mouthful, reaching for another spoonful.

"Oh no you don't!" She laughed, swatting my hand away. I pretended to pout as we got to the theater. Annabeth and I got in line as I pulled out my wallet to pay for the tickets. While Annabeth ran her eyes over the movie times, I snuck some more of her ice cream.

"'Scuse me," said a little kid, pushing past Annabeth to get to his mom, who was in line ahead of us. The woman turned to us, apologizing for her son's behavior.

"Sorry, he can't ever sit still," she said. Annabeth laughed, apparently not bothered at all.

"Well, my boyfriend is like that, so no worries," she assured the woman.

"Hey!" I objected indignantly. "I told you, it's the ADHD." Annabeth just laughed.

"Sure it is, Seaweed Brain," she said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before returning to her conversation with the woman. I focused on sneaking more ice cream from Annabeth, mostly because I'd finished mine.

"Mister?" Asked the little boy suddenly, looking at me curiously.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you eating the blonde girl's ice cream?" I froze, my spoon half in Annabeth's ice cream, and she turned at his question, catching me red handed.

Busted.

-Line Break-

When the movie was over, we walked back into the bright sun, laughing and talking. The movie had been cute, and even Annabeth had gotten into it, although she would never admit it. The boy who'd gotten me caught stealing Annabeth's ice cream- turns out his name was Daniel- had been there to see Monsters University, also, and had shouted out encouragement to the characters the entire movie. Instead of being annoying, it had been funny, and I was in better spirits than I'd been since…well, since I got shipped off to The MIST Academy.

We turned down a lesser-used road, ready to get back to the car and get home. The street was deserted, and our voices seemed to bounce of the tall buildings on either side.

"Hey, Percy?" Annabeth asked suddenly, more serious now.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to make this work, right?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Us. When I go home, we'll make us work, right?" She asked hesitantly. I stopped and turned to her.

"Of course we will," I said confidently. "You know why?" I continued before she could answer. "Because if we can escape a boarding school run by people who specifically want to hurt us, we can handle a long distance relationship. And if California doesn't work out," I said, my voice softer now. "You can always come back here." She smiled slightly, but I knew she was stubborn enough to try to make it work anyways.

"Thanks, Percy," she said, kissing me softly. I kissed her back, and it felt like more than our other kisses- it felt like a promise. A promise that no matter what happened, no matter what changed, we would stay together. We _would_ make this work.

Our kiss was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps. An iron like grip clamped down on my arm and jerked me back, shoving a cloth up to my face. I struggled to hold my breath, determined not to breath in the drug. Across from me, Annabeth was receiving a similar treatment from… was that an earth-bound? I kicked back, trying to jerk myself away from the earth-bound holding me, my lungs burning for air. My heel connected with what felt like a leg, but it was like kicking cement. I was forced to breath, my lungs feeling like they were on fire, and immediately felt light headed. The earth-bound dropped me and I crumpled to the ground, the world spinning into darkness. The last thing I remember was the sound of Annabeth screaming my name and a silver arrow clattered to the pavement in front of my face. Then my world went black.

**Right, hope that satisfied all you Percabeth people! I'm not great at writing romance, so sorry if that seemed OOC or weird. :( Anyways, Reviewer's Question: Why do you think the earth-bounds came after Percy and Annabeth? I know I haven't given you much information to base your guesses off of, but it's just for fun. Until next time! **


	4. Chapter 4

** Hola, everybody! It's update time! *does happy dance* Shout outs: **

**8EternallyMortal8- ****Your review just made my day. Like, seriously, it was just awesome. :D **

**MarMar5678- ****Haha, well, I stray away from my original ideas a lot, so I don't know if it really counts ;) **_**School of Secrets, **_**for example, was supposed to be a regular cliché Percabeth High School story at first… :/ **

**Random demigod- ****Sorry if it was hard to understand. They were on a date, earth-bounds attacked. You find out why later on, if that helps at all. **

**TheLostDaughter- ****Good guess, but Kronos really is dead. Still, nice guess! **

**Wisdoms daughter- ****Meh, I stink at writing romance :/ I'm glad someone liked it, though!**

**Myusernameisorigional- ****Yeah, I'm mean like that I guess… **

**PepsiCola541- ****Yes, I was totally getting revenge! Haha, naw, I just like writing Cliffys, MUWAHAHAHAHAH! (Btw, Kronos really is dead. Nice guess, though!) **

**Disclaimer: What's that? A bird? A plane? RICK RIORDAN?! Oh, no, it's just Qwerty… nothing to see here… **

Annabeth's POV

When I came around, the first thing I noticed was how bad my head hurt. I felt like someone was pounding on my skull with a sledgehammer. Then I opened my eyes, and my headache got much, much worse.

Bright light flooded my vision, as white as the walls of the room I was in. Come to think of it, _everything _in the room was a sterile, bright white- the sheets of the cot I was on, the tile floor, the cabinets and silver sinks- everything. Even with my splitting headache, it wouldn't have taken a genius to figure out I was in a hospital room.

Why was I in a hospital, though? I wasn't sick. Then, all at once, memories from last night hit me like a train all at once. The earth-bounds. They had surrounded up and tried to drug us, managing to knock us both out, but not before I saw Chiron show up and start firing arrows. He must have defeated them all and dropped up off at the hospital.

What had Chiron said about the earth-bounds? They guarded the island just off the cost, that was it. So why were they _in the city? _And more importantly- why had they attacked us?

"Annabeth?" Asked a voice, and I looked up to see Thalia walk into the room, closely followed by Nico and Reyna.

"Hey guys," I croaked, just now realizing how dry my throat was. "Aren't you supposed to be home by now?" They ignored my question, hurrying to my bedside.

"What happened?" Asked Thalia, concerned.

"Earth-bounds attacked Percy and me," I answered honestly, looking around for a glass of water. "Oh gods- Percy! Is he ok?"

"What?!" Screeched my friends, looking horrified. "Why?" Asked Reyna at the same time as Nico said "When?"

Once my friends had assured me Percy was fine (unconscious still, but fine), I quickly filled my friends in, finally finding a glass of water on my bedside table.

"They just…attacked you?" Asked Reyna, looking mad. Thalia looked downright murderous, while Nico just looked paper-white.

"Pretty much," I answered, worried.

"I thought they stayed on their little island," Thalia spat.

"That's what I thought, too," I said. "Guys, those earth-bounds…" I trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing.

"They were here for us, I know it. Why else would they wait until Percy and I were alone to attack us?" A heavy, tense silence followed my words.

"We were supposed to be safe when we left the MIST Academy," Thalia objected finally, although she sounded uncertain.

"They didn't _kill_ you, though," Reyna objected. "They just drugged you, right? Why would they do that?"

"Because they didn't want us dead," I said slowly. _Yet, _I added silently. "They wanted to kidnap us, take us to their boss or something."

"Who would want to do that?" Asked Thalia, her voice raising an octave at the end. "Kronos is dead- who else would want to hurt us?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But I know how we can find out."

"How?" Asked Nico.

"Chiron. He knows what's going on," I answered. "We need to find Chiron and get some answers."

"Everyone should be a part of that meeting," Reyna pointed out.

"True," Nico agreed.

"Fine," I said. "You guys gather up everyone who escaped the MIST Academy with us. Then, once Percy and I are released from the Hospital, we're gonna find Chiron."

I felt cheated, and I wanted answers. What would we have to do to finally be safe?

** Short Chapter, I know :/ I'll try to update soon, though! Reviewer's question: Favorite book/series **_**besides **_**PJO or HoO. Mine would probably be **_**Kingdom Keepers **_**by Ridley Pearson. Until next time! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys! GREAT NEWS- well, actually I have 2 announcements- announcement numero uno: I have wifi! Whoo hoo! That means more updates even though I'm on a family vacation! Yay! Announcement number two- the amazing and talented ****PepsiCola541 ****and I are now writing a collab story together called **_**Accidental Kings and Queens**_**. The collab account is called ****Drinking in Qwerty, ****so check it out! (I'll put the summary at the bottom of this chapter.) Shout outs: **

**Myusernameisorigional- ****You don't sound naggy at all :) I did the same thing when I started posting on Fanfiction! And the drabble was really cute, by the way. **

**8EternallyMortal8- ****Aw, Thank you! :) I've never read Mortal Instruments, but I've heard a lot about it. It's about the shadow hunters, right? Is it any good? **

**Wisdoms daughter- ****OHMIGODS YOU LIKE KINGDOM KEEPERS TOO?! IT'S OFFICIAL WE JUST BECAME VIRTUAL BEST FRIENDS AHHH I'M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW! **

**Random demigods- ****Feel free to guess! :) **

**Disclaimer: Me: Who owns PJO and HoO? **

**Readers: RICK RIORDAN! **

**Me: And who am I? **

**Readers: OBVIOUSLY NOT HIM! **

**Me: Gee, thanks for the leap of faith guys… **

Percy's POV

We didn't have to look far to find Chiron. He was waiting for us outside the hospital like he _knew _we'd come looking for him- I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Hello, children," he sighed, like he was mental willing us not to ask the questions at the tips of our tongues.

"Chiron, _what happened?! _The earth-bounds, when they attacked us-_" _Cried Annabeth, cut off by Chiron.

"Shhh! Not so loud!" He responded frantically, like we were all in terrible danger. Oh, that's right, we were. Silly me. "Come with me- I know a place we can talk."

As we followed Chiron, Annabeth shot me a glance that clearly said _here we go again. _

-Line Break-

Chiron led us to an island that looked so much like the earth-bounds' island, at first I thought he was leading us into a trap. Then I noticed little things here and there that calmed my nerves, like the fact the bridge looked safer and the road was paved instead of being made of dirt.

We followed the road until we got to a white picket fence at the base of a large hill with a lone pine tree at the top. There was a sign on the fence that read _Pick your own Strawberries. _I raised an eyebrow and turned to Chiron.

"Your great safe place is a strawberry field? You want us to pick strawberries?"

"Of course not," Chiron told me.

"Right, that clears everything up," I muttered. "Thanks for that." Chiron sighed like I was missing something really big and obvious.

"The strawberry farm is just a cover-up," he explained. "This is an old summer camp for… well, let's not go into that right now." He turned away from me uneasily like he'd come close to a sensitive subject, and whished he could take his words back.

"For what?" I asked curiously. Chiron pretended not to hear me, hurrying over the hill and heading toward a large four story blue house with white trim and a wrap-around porch. The rest of us were frozen in shock, staring at the amazing view below us.

The landscape was slightly run down, like no one had been around to properly care for it in years, but it was still beautiful. The strawberry fields were slightly overgrown, but still healthy. A blue canoe lake shimmered, and beyond that, blue waves crashed across a beach with sand white enough to look like powdered sugar.

Assorted cabins were sprinkled across a small clearing, although even from a distance I could tell the cabins were definitely different from any other summer camp cabins I'd ever seen in my life. One seemed to glow, while another was splattered with red paint, and those were some of the more _normal _ones.

"Where…where _are _we?" Gasped Annabeth from besides me, just as awed as I was.

"I have no idea," I replied honestly. I'd never seen a place like this in all my life.

"It's been a while since anyone's been here, that's for sure," Thalia commented, and Frank snorted in agreement. 

"Are you guys coming or not?" Called Chiron from just outside what I'd mentally dubbed "The Big House." Without further ceremony we headed down the hill, hopefully to get some answers.

-Line Break-

"That's exactly what happened?" Chiron asked, his eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"Yup," Annabeth confirmed, idly tapping her fingers across the ping-pong table we were gathered around.

"I see," Chiron said gravelly. "I need to go, but I'd advise you all to stay here."

"Wait! Where are you going?" Objected Annabeth at the same time as I said, "Stay here? But I have to be home by eleven!"

"I have a meeting with some… important people. I'll inform your mother you're here, Percy. She'll understand."

"She will?"

"I fear she knew you would be coming here soon when you told her about the MIST Academy," Chiron informed me. I was too shocked to respond. "Stay here- pick a cabin to sleep in, and I'll be back soon to train you."

"_Train us?!_" Annabeth cried.

"Yes, child," Chiron said gravelly. "I fear you'll need it."

** I know, short and unclear- sorry 'bout that. The next chapter will be in Chiron's POV and the one after that, you guys will finally get some answers! Yay! Here's the summary to **_**Accidental Kings and Queens, **_**as promised: **

Percy just wants to escape royal life and be himself. Annabeth was kidnapped as a child and has no idea who she really is, only that the Queen is overtaxing her village. When Annabeth sets out to seek help and runs into Percy, they will be forced to face the truth- both about their pasts, and their feelings.

All you Percabeth shippers, check it out! (Remember, it's not on this account, it's on the collab one!) Reviewer's Question: What song do you think best "fits" this story? I'll listen to all the submissions, and the person who submits the best song will get the next chapter dedicated to them! :) Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everybody! :) Ok, so I took a closer look at my chapter outline- you actually **_**don't **_**find out the big secret in the next chapter… sorry 'bout that. The truth will come out in Chapter 9. Ok, moving on! Shout out time:**

**8EternallyMortal8- ****Hm, I could get used to being called "Awesome One" ;) Haha, just kidding. **

**Wisdoms daughter- ****DHIs for life! :) And there will be answers… eventually… **

**FlourenceBradbury- ****Well, there's a first for everything! :) **

**Myusernameisorigional- ****No problem :) **

**Disclaimer: Books are written by authors, like RR. Unfortunately, I am neither RR or a published author… how depressing is that? **

Chiron's POV

"Bad" no longer described the situation, and no doubt the gods would not be pleased. Especially Percy's father, who I was meeting with now.

"Chiron," boomed the familiar voice from the doorway. "Come in."

"Sir," I greeted with a brief bow. He waved off my bow, motioning me inside.

"No need to bow, old friend."

"Sir, I'm afraid I don't bring good news," I warned.

"My son escaped the MIST Academy!" He retorted, as if nothing bad could ever happen due to that. I rolled my wheelchair in to the white columned room with slopping roofs and golden thrones for the gods, all that were currently empty.

"The earth-bounds are after them," I broke in, shifting nervously. "They attacked both Percy and his girlfriend. Both are fine, because they weren't trying to kill them. They wanted to take them to their leader… Sir, you do realize what this means?" Judging by the worried look on Poseidon's face, he did realize what this meant.

"You don't think-"

"I do, sir. She knows he's the only one who could open the-"

"Don't say it!" Poseidon interrupted. "Names have power." I sighed, but didn't argue. He was right, after all.

"They were in the _city, _Poseidon. Off their island!"

Poseidon rubbed his temple with one hand, his eyes closed like he had a headache coming on. "In the city…" he repeated. "So she has found it."

"It was very well hidden," I said trying to convince myself as well as him. "The Crescens Stone-"

"Chiron," Poseidon broke in. "We don't speak of it by name."

"Yes, lord. But-"

"How much have you told them?"

"Not much, sir. Percy knows you are, in fact, alive, but besides that, not much else." I explained.

"They don't know about the Unions?"

"No, sir."

"Tell them. Tell them everything."

"_Everything_, sir?" I asked dubiously, my mind flashing back to the Crescens Stone. "They're only teenagers, and that's…well, that's a lot of responsibility. _You _weren't nearly as young when you joined the Union."

"I don't expect them to join the Union," Poseidon told me, pacing on the stone steps, deep in thought. "The Ancient Laws don't allow such a thing- our own children, in the same Union? No… the same Law that demanded I leave my son and wife behind forbids that."

"But, when they know the truth… living without a Union…" I protested.

"Who said anything about living without a Union?"

I hesitated for a moment before I realized what he meant.

"Poseidon, you can't expect them to-"

"Create their own Union?" He finished. "Yes, I do." He said it with finality, but his green eyes betrayed his worry. "I didn't want to involve Percy in this," Poseidon told me softly, sitting down on his throne heavily. "This isn't his war. But if she knows… if she's after him… he needs to be prepared."

"Once he's a Defender though, he _can't _back out. He'll be in it for good, Poseidon."

"You think I don't know that?" Asked the god, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "It's too late, anyway. He's been involved ever since he got sent to that gods forsaken school."

"And his friends?"

"Tell them too, I suppose. He'll need all the help he can get."

"A new Union, _and _a new group of Defenders? You want them _all _trained in such a way?"

"Yes," Poseidon nodded firmly. "The old training grounds should make a good Base, don't you think? And you'll train them, of course."

"They don't have much time to train if you want them to retrieve the Stone," I commented. Poseidon's expression immediately darkened.

"No- don't tell them about that. Let us gods handle that one," he said quickly. "They'll have enough on their hands with the earth-bounds if they're in the city."

"True," I agreed. "Very well, I'll train them. They're very brave- they'll make good Defenders, especially in a time like now," I informed the god, although a small part of me wondered if I was trying to convince myself as much as him.

It was no secret that Defenders had the most dangerous job in our world, out of any Union. Asking them to train for a job like that so suddenly, to help people who had abandoned them as children- it was suicide.

Yet recent events had also showed that it was our only choice.

**So, I know what most of you are thinking right now- **_**Qwerty, that chapter made absolutely no sense. What on earth are you thinking?! **_**Things clear up eventually, I promise! Just trust me for a few more chapters, and then I'll explain everything, and the conversation in this chapter will make much more sense. Sorry for keeping you guys in the dark for so long, just hang on a little longer! Reviewer's question: Who do you think will have to close the Doors of Death in the House of Hades? (I know this is kind of a weird question to throw in there, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately and wanted to hear what you guys think.) I have a really bad feeling that somehow it'll be Nico. RR is a major troll, but he doesn't kill off his big main characters (like the seven) as easily as he might kill off a less major charter. Nico is the only one on the quest who isn't officially a part of the seven. I really don't want it to be Nico, because he's just too amazing a character to die, but I have a bad feeling it might be. Hopefully I'm wrong (and I probably am.) Until next time! **


	7. Chapter 7

**It's been too long since I've updated, hasn't it? Nine days, I think? (Or was it 10?) Oh well, it's been over a week, that's for sure. And that's too long. Sorry, guys. :( Also, I felt kind of bad about giving you so many questions last chapter and no answers, so I tried to squeeze a couple answers into this chapter. Not many, but a few. Shout outs: **

**Myusernameisorigional- ****No! Not Frank! Ugh, I really don't want to see any of the seven die. :( I love them all. (I've heard some people say Piper's annoying, but I love her.) Oh, well. **

**8EternallyMortal8****- *Spoiler!* So far, you have been the first and only person to guess correctly! :) Nice job! (Should I have lied and said you were wrong for suspense purposes? Oops…) **

Also, quick thanks to everyone who favorited/followed/reviwed! Thanks so much! You guys are the best!

**Disclaimer: Me: Grab your pitchforks and torches! We're off to hunt down RR!**

**Readers: *Grabs weapons and started walking toward fanfic author* **

**Me: Ack! No! I'm not RR! HELP! **

Annabeth's POV

"Rachel, has Chiron come back yet?" I asked, walking into the big house. The silver cabin I'd chosen to sleep in was just perfect, and I'd gotten a good night's sleep. But now that morning was here, it was time to start looking for answers.

"Huh? Oh, no," Rachel replied, looking distracted.

"What's wrong?" I asked, studying the bags under her eyes and the nervous way she wrung her hands.

"It's just… I had another dream last night," She confided, so quietly I almost didn't catch the last words. Almost.

I felt a chill run through me at the whispered words. Rachel could dream the future, past, or present, and her dreams always, _always _meant something. It was her gift. And we all knew not to ignore a dream from Rachel.

"What was the dream about?" I asked, sitting next to her on the white porch that wrapped around the big house.

"In the dream, Chiron was talking to a man that looked like Percy, just older," she began, her eyes unfocused as she recalled her dream. "They were talking about _us,_" she told me.

"What did they say?" I asked urgently, staring at her intently. Rachel frowned, looking away.

"I don't know, really. The dream got really weird. They kept talking about Unions and Defenders, and the earth-bounds. Apparently them being in the city really bothered them. And there was something else… a stone of some sort…" Rachel trailed off, struggling to remember.

"What are Unions and Defenders? And what stone?" I asked, confused. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I have no idea what any of it means," Rachel admitted. "I was hoping you might."

I just shook me head, deep in though. Union… a union of what? How did that pertain to us? And Defenders? Defender of what? Rights? Liberty?

"Hey, guys."

I looked up at the familiar voice, offering a quick hello before returning to my thoughts. A stone? Why would they talk about _stones_?

"Did I miss something?" Percy asked, waving his hand in front of my face. I pushed his hand away, trying not to break my train of thought.

Beside me, Rachel was telling Percy about her dream. He frowned.

"A man that looked like _me_?" He asked, looking doubtful.

"Wait," I said suddenly. "Chiron said he was going to talk to Percy's dad, remember? That must have been him."

"You dreamed about my _dad_?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Maybe Sally knows something," I suggested, looking up at my boyfriend. "Maybe your dad told her something."

"It's possible," Percy agreed. "We could go ask her."

"You just want an excuse to see your mom," Rachel accused.

"Yeah, that too," He admitted sheepishly, offering us a lopsided smile. "Please?"

"It's a good idea," I agreed, standing up.

"Chiron told us to stay here, though," Rachel objected, also standing up.

"So? This is a chance to get some answers," I pointed out.

"You could be attacked again!"

"No, _we_ might be attacked," Percy corrected. "You had the dream, you should come."

"We could be attacked. Captured. Killed, even."

Percy shot me a look, and I shrugged. It was a fact, that much was true.

"Yeah…" Percy admitted.

"Fine," Rachel sighed. "I'm in." I blinked in shock. Guess Rachel was just full of surprises.

-Line Break-

"Mom?" Percy called, opening the apartment door and letting Rachel and I in.

"Percy! Where have you _been_?!" Sally cried, engulfing Percy in a killer hug the moment she saw him.

"Mom…can't breath…" he managed, trying to act nonchalant, but I could tell he was really, really glad to see her again.

"And… Annabeth?" She asked, sounding confused, but giving me the same crushing hug nonetheless. "Weren't you catching a plane back to California?"

"Things came up," I told her, pulling Rachel forward. "Sally, this is Rachel. She's a gifted kid, like Percy and me. Rachel, meet Percy's mom."

"Nice to meet you, Rachel," Sally told her genuinely, smiling warmly but still looking confused. "Why don't you take a seat and tell me where you've been?" She suggested, ushering us all into the living room.

We took a seat and Percy began to explain, Rachel and I chiming in to fill in parts he'd forgotten. We told her about getting attacked by the earth-bounds, Chiron rescuing us, and Rachel's dream. Sally was a good listener- she waited until we were done to ask questions, and gave the appropriate reactions to various parts of the story.

"I see," she murmured, and unlike the rest of us, she looked considerably less confused.

"Can you explain any of it to us?" I asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"Not as much as I wish I could," Sally admitted. "But I can shed a little light on things." We waited eagerly, motioning for her to continue.

"When Percy's father and I were… together… he did tell me about the Unions. I don't like that you've gotten mixed up in this, Percy. It's dangerous. Very, very dangerous." She warned, her lips pursed.

"Mom," Percy wheedled. "Just tell us! We can handle it!"

"Please," I added quickly. "Just tell us, _please_."

"Very well," Sally sighed. "Percy, your father was in the Union of the gods, or just gods for short. The gods, as they called themselves, were a bit like you three and your friends. Gifted. But they were much more powerful- some of the most powerful in the century. Percy, you control water, right? Your father controlled the entire ocean."

"He what?" Percy gasped, his eyes wide.

"They renamed themselves after the ancient Greek gods whose power best matched their ability. Percy, your father's name was Poseidon. One took the name Zeus, another Hades, Aphrodite, and so on. These… gifts… you have weren't given to you by some random fluke of nature. You inherited them from whoever your parent was. That's were you get your water powers, Percy," Sally explained, giving him a sad smile. "From your father."

"But.." I said, grappling for some explanation. "But my parents were completely normal."

"Your biological parents, dear?" Sally asked gently. "Did one leave when you were just a baby?"

"My mom," I managed, my throat closing up. "She left right after I was born. Are you saying that she was… she was…"

"A goddess, yes. That may be why she left. She was probably in the same Union as Percy's father."

"I don't get it," I croaked. "Why would that make her leave? Dad told me she left because she didn't mean to have me." Sally sighed like she wished my Dad was here to explain this all.

"It's not really my place-" She began uncomfortably.

"Sally," I begged. "Please." She sighed, but obliged.

"If you were in the Union of the gods, you weren't allowed to have children," Sally admitted. "The rule was put in place by Zeus himself, although he did break the rule himself a few times. If you _did_ have kids, you couldn't stick around. You had to leave. It was just too dangerous. Your parents didn't leave because they didn't care. They left because they _did _care. They didn't want to put you in danger."

"Danger from what?" Rachel asked, making me jump slightly. I'd almost forgotten that she was there. Sally took a deep breath, shifting nervously.

"That's a long story-"

"We have time," Percy interrupted. "Mom, please. We need to know what we're up against."

"The gods weren't the _only _people born with special abilities," she murmured. "There was another union- The Union of the Titans. They took the name hoping it would show superiority over the gods. Similar to your parents, they also picked names to match their abilities, only they took the Titan's names, instead of the Greek gods."

"So… when we fought Kronos at the MIST Academy…" I realized, horror bubbling up inside me.

"You were fighting a Titan," Sally confirmed. "That was why you were put in the MIST Academy. Somehow, Kronos found out that you were children of the gods, and what better way to weaken your enemy than to hurt their children?"

I felt my stomach knot as the true nature of Kronos's plan hit me, and I felt like I might be sick. Next to me, Percy and Rachel looked like they felt much the same way.

"He was the leader, though, right? I mean, there can't be Titans _worse _than Kronos, can there?" Rachel asked, her voice faltering slightly.

"Kronos was pretty bad," Sally admitted. "But he wasn't the Titan's leader. Trust me when I say this, their leader is much, _much _worse." At her words, an involuntary shiver of fear coursed through me. Who could be worse that Kronos?

"And the Defender thing? What was the stone about?" I asked, not even sure I wanted to hear the answer anymore. Sally just shrugged.

"I have no idea," she admitted. "But if it involves the Titans, it can't be good."

A heavy silence followed her words as we took it all in. When we'd defeated Kronos… well, we thought we'd done it. We'd won. We'd escaped. And now we were being told that there was a whole _group _of people just like him. I felt completely cheated.

"On that happy note, who wants a cookie?" Sally asked, breaking the silence. I accepted one from her, although my stomach was so knotted in fear and unease, I wasn't sure I'd be able to eat it.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, making us all jump.

"Oh, that must be Paul," Sally said, her eyes lighting up.

"Paul?" I said at the same time as Percy said, "Who's he?" She hurried over and opened the door, revealing a guy who looked like a movie star with salt and pepper hair and a crisp, black suit.

"Sally," he greeted, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Beautiful as always. You ready to go?" Then he seemed to spot us in the background for the first time. "Um, hello?" He said, shooting Sally a questioning look.

"Oh! Paul, this is Percy, my son," she said.

"Nice to meet you at last," Paul smiled, shaking Percy's hand. Percy, on the other hand, looked like he was trying to swallow a quarter.

"You got a… boyfriend?" He managed, looking between his mom and Paul.

"This is Annabeth, Percy's girlfriend, and their friend, Rachel," Sally continued, not meeting Percy's gaze.

"Nice to meet you," Paul said, shaking my hand, and then Rachel's. I couldn't help but notice that the edged of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, so he must have smiled a lot. Percy was still staring between his mom and Paul like they'd announced they were aliens.

"We have a date, so…" Sally trailed off, looking between us and her boyfriend helplessly.

"We need to be getting back anyway," I said awkwardly. "Thanks for everything, Sally."

"Anytime, dear," she said, looking relieved. She gave Percy a quick hug, murmuring something that sounded suspiciously like a "_we'll talk later, ok" _into his ear, and then turned to leave.

"Oh no," Rachel muttered suddenly. Everyone, Paul and Sally included, turned to the window Rachel was looking through. On the street below, an earth-bound lumbered past. Otherwise, the street was completely empty.

"What's wrong?" Paul asked, looking confused. After a moment, I realized that for some reason, he couldn't see the earth-bound.

"Nothing," Rachel croaked, apparently coming to the same conclusion. "See you later." Paul still looked a bit confused, but left with Sally regardless for their date.

"We should get back," I managed, Percy still staring at the door his mom and her boyfriend had disappeared through.

"The others need to hear what we've learned. And Chiron has a lot of questions to answer."

**Well, there you have it. Hopefully that cleared a bit of it up. :) Also, the Thalico I promised will be coming in soon. Just a heads up! Reviewer's question: Has anyone read **_**Spoiled **_**by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan? I just finished it this afternoon and am currently an emotional train wreak. It's a great book, and I officially now ship Molly and Teddy. (If you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about!) Until next time! **


	8. Chapter 8

**HOLA! :) I'm back! Update time! Yay! Shout outs: **

**Wisdom's daughter****: That's good :)**

**8EternallyMortal8****- Your fanfic made me cry, BTW. I totally loved it, though! (Incredible one? Hm, lets see if I can get my sisters to call me that… ;) **

**Random demigod****- A bit, I suppose. I hope that's ok! **

**Myusernameisoriginal****- It's ok :) Thanks for coming back and reviewing anyway! **

**LighElf99****- You. Are. So. Close. I mean, it's almost scary how close you are, I'm not kidding. You're wrong on a few details, but for the most part… did you go through my laptop somehow or something? (And thank you!) **

**Disclaimer: Me? RR? Who does that make you guys? Santa? I own nothing. **

Percy's POV

"You ok?" Asked Annabeth carefully as we walked down the street.

"Fine," I said, my mind reeling with what we'd learned. "Why?"

"Well, you know…" Annabeth began awkwardly. "With your mom dating and all."

"Oh," I managed. "Yeah, that. Uh-"

"Guys? We've got trouble!" Called Rachel, jogging back to us.

"What?" Asked Annabeth immediately.

"Those earth-bounds we saw earlier are looping around. They'll round that corner any minute…" Rachel trailed off as the lumbering shaped turned the corner. "Oh, look. There they are," she said weakly. Her face was pale, making her freckles stand out.

I wasn't sure I looked much better. This was all too new to me, and now that I knew the earth-bounds had to do with a powerful evil union- well, it didn't help.

On my other side, Annabeth looked around for some sort of weapon. She wasn't pale, but her hands shook slightly. Four earth-bounds. Three untrained children of the gods. We were toast.

"Hey! This ally is roped off!" Called a policeman from the other side of the road. We were stuck. The cop kept coming closer, unable to see the muddy monsters just fifty feet behind us.

"Haven't you kids heard of all the gang activity around these parts lately?" The cop scolded. "It's not safe to be out on your own."

He continued lecturing us, but we had bigger problems. The earth-bounds were just feet away from us.

"Get their eye- that's how Chiron killed them," Annabeth hissed under her breath to us.

"Got it," I muttered back. "What do you think the cop will see?" Rachel snorted, although she was still pale.

"Us attacking thin air like lunatics?" She joked weakly.

"On my mark… NOW!" Annabeth cried, charging toward the nearest earth-bound. Behind us, the cop stopped rambling, yelling something about 'resisting arrest.'

We ignored him, Rachel and I both picking an earth-bound and charging. Thankfully, earth-bounds weren't very fast. They were, however, destructive. If they got you cornered, you were a goner.

"Come and get me, ugly!" I taunted, making the earth-bound come closer. I was terrified, but I was also determined not to let it show. Had my dad, wherever he was, fought the same creatures?

The earth-bound roared in fury, swiping out at me. I dodged, rolling between the creature's legs, and jumped to my feet behind it.

"Too slow," I taunted, picking up a trashcan lid that had rolled to a stop near my feet. Throwing it like a Frisbee, I let it soar toward the creature's head. He turned just in time to get a trashcan lid to the eye. The red peeper blinked, and then went out. He didn't cry in pain, just collapsed, and then dissolved back into the ground. Creepy.

"Percy! Behind you!" Cried out Annabeth, just moments too late. A muddy fist closed around my neck and lifted me off the ground. I choked for air, scrapping at the shapeless fist desperately. I'd forgotten about the fourth earth-bound, and now I was paying the price.

Annabeth and Rachel, occupied with their own earth-bounds, were too far away to help. My vision began to turn dark at the edges, and I my lungs felt like they were on fire. Just when I was about to black out, the earth-bound threw me through the nearest abandoned store window.

The window exploded with the impact as I went sailing through, the glass nicking my legs and arms. Crumpled on the floor, I gasped for breath, the shattered glass all around me.

The low hanging sun was suddenly blotted out as the earth-bound lumbered into the store through the broken window, ready to finish me off. I managed to get to my knees, but it made the room spin and head pound. There was no way I'd be able to get back to my feet right away, let alone fight properly.

_If I can only get to the eye, _I thought desperately. I considered throwing a piece of glass, but doubted my aim would be any good. There was too big a chance the flat side of the glass would hit the eye instead of a sharp edge.

_I need something more pointed, like a stick or a dart or even… even a ballpoint pen, _I realized my hand darting instinctively to my pocket. I'd only have one shot at this.

Pulling out the cheap pen, I too a deep breath, waiting for the earth-bound to get closer. I'd never written with it, but I always kept it with me. I'd won that souvenir the hard way- in a fight with Luke and Kronos. I wasn't about to lose it.

All too soon, the earth-bound was looming over me. If I didn't know better, I'd swear a triumphant smirk crossed over its face. I took a deep breath, uncapped the pen for a better point, and hurtled it at the earth-bound's eye as hard as I could.

Several things happened all at once.

Mid-air the pen began to change. It grew in length, sharpening and almost emitting a bronze glow. In the blink of an eye, my useless pen had changed into a full-length bronze sword with a wicked edge.

The sword found it's mark, and the earth-bound collapsed, dissolving into the ground like it's twin. Across the ally, Rachel and Annabeth had managed to beat their own opponents and now stumbled toward me, looking shocked.

"H-how…" Rachel stammered, staring at the sword in amazement. "How did you _do _that?"

"I have no idea," I answered honestly. "It was a pen just minutes ago!" Annabeth picked up the sword, studying it carefully.

"Percy," she said slowly. "I think this belonged to your father."

"What?" I gasped, stumbling to my feet. The room pitched and spun, but after a few deep breaths, it wore off. Glass crunched under my shoes as I stumbled over to her, leaning heavily on the wall.

"What makes you say that?"

"This symbol," Annabeth replied, running a finger over the sword's hilt. At the top of the hilt, a bronze trident was engraved into the leather handle. Picking up the cap to the pen, she re-capped it, and it shrank back into your average writing utensil.

"Percy, where did you get this pen?" She asked, handing it back.

"The fight with Luke and Kronos," I recalled. "Luke had been almost… scared of it. I didn't really give it a second thought at the time. He must have known what it could do."

"If it was your father's sword," Rachel said slowly. "How did they get it?" We all fell silent at her question.

"Hey, you kids!" Yelled a voice, and we turned to see a very red-faced, furious looking cop headed our way. "I'm gonna have to take you in for this!"

"You're _arresting _us?" Rachel said incredulously. "Why?!"

"Destruction of property, trespassing," the man ranted, gesturing to the busted window. "I don't know what you were thinking, kid, jumping through this window!"

"Jumping?" I asked in disbelief. "I didn't _jump_. I was _thrown_."

"Yeah, sure," the cop snapped sarcastically. "And I'm the Easter bunny."

"C'mon, Percy," Annabeth said, turning from the cop distastefully. "Lets get out of here."

"Are you part of that gang? Hey! HEY! GET BACK HERE!" The cop roared, pulling out his radio to request backup.

Leaning heavily on Rachel and Annabeth, we somehow managed to escape the ally. We needed to get back to the others and make a game plan, as well as get the rest of the answers from Chiron. Something was seriously wrong.

**Action-packed chapter! Hope you guys liked that :) And, I believe you will be getting more answers next chapter about what a defender is and what's going to be expected from Percy and his friends. Yay! ;) Reviewer's question: The cop mentioned a gang a few times. Important future characters, or just a reason the cop was in that ally way? And if you think the gang is going to be important, who do you think they are? This should be interesting. :) Until next time! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, guys! It's been waaayyyy too long, sorry 'bout that! Also, I have an ****IMPORTANT WARNING:**** (Did the all caps get your attention? Yes? Good.) So, everyone knows school is starting up soon (it is for me, anyway) and my schedule is going to be jam-packed. I won't bore you with a list of everything I'll be doing, but I'm warning you that I probably won't be able to update nearly as often. I'll try to do my best, but it'll still be rough. An update once a week, maybe, at best. I know you guys will be reviewing, telling me to update, but believe me, I'll be doing my best. 'Kay? Good. Moving on to the shout outs! :) **

**8EternallyMortal8****- Yup, Riptide emerges! You didn't think I'd forgotten about Percy's trusty sword, now did you? **

**Guest****- Thank you :) **

**LighElf99****- Well, hopefully I don't disappoint ;) **

**Disclaimer: I'm feeling pretty unoriginal today, so I'm just gonna get it out there: I own nothing. All rights to RR. **

Annabeth's POV

Our little group- Percy, Rachel, Thalia, Grover, Nico, Reyna, Leo, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and I- clustered around Chiron, looking at him expectantly. It hadn't taken me long to explain our trip to Percy's apartment, and how we were attacked, and now it was time for answers. I was tired of not knowing what was going on, and from the looks on everyone else's faces, so where they.

Chiron sighed, seeming to realize that the time had come for him to spill.

"How much did Mrs. Jackson tell you?" He asked, scanning our faces hesitantly. The others looked to Percy, Rachel, and I, awaiting our answer.

"Only what we've told you," I said honestly. "She told us about the Unions, and that our parents were in the Union of the gods. Oh, and she mentioned the Union of the titans, too." Chiron nodded, his face expressionless.

"I see. Very well. What Percy's mom has said is all true, of course, but there's a bit more to the story," he admitted, leaning back in his wheelchair. "The Unions weren't created just for the fun of it. They have a purpose."

We waited, hanging on to every word as Chiron continued.

"Long ago, the titans decided that they had no reason to hide their powers. Who should decide what's normal? Why should people like them- and you- be considered weird? They wanted to change that, understandably, but they went to the extreme. The titans wanted to drive the humans into hiding, exterminate them entirely- you get the idea."

"But humans aren't all bad," Rachel protested.

"That's exactly what your parents realized," Chiron informed her. "They fought against the titans, and the war has been going on ever since."

"Wait, what?" Percy asked, looking confused. "A war over what, exactly? Human survival?"

"In a sense, yes," Chiron agreed.

"So… pretty much, we protect the humans, and the titans try to kill them?" Frank summed up, looking horrified.

"Not exactly," Chiron backtracked. "Only the Defenders protect the humans. A union isn't made up of _just _Defenders. There's also Searchers, Healers, and, if you're lucky, an Oracle."

"So that's what a Defender is," Percy said. "Like, a warrior. Or a solider." Chiron nodded in confirmation.

"Wait," I blurted out suddenly. "What exactly does this have to do with us? Our parents are involved in a top-secret war, sure. But why does this affect us?"

"Your parents need your help," Chiron admitted.

"Why?" I asked cautiously.

"The titans have recently gotten a lead on an… item… that could end this war once and for all- and not in our favor, either," Chiron explained.

"The Crescens Stone," Rachel interjected. Chiron paled at the mention of the stone, turning on the redhead immediately.

"How do you know about that?" He asked, almost accusingly.

"My dream," Rachel defended herself. "What does it do?"

"I can't tell you," Chiron said tightly. "But that's not important right now, anyway. The thing is, if the titans get this stone before your parents… I don't even want to think about it."

"But if they're out looking for this stone…" I trailed off, the puzzle pieces falling into place. "Who will keep the earth-bounds away from the humans?" Chiron's grim face confirmed my suspicions.

"That's where you come in," he told us. "You're parents need _you _to take over the battle in their absence."

A shocked silence followed his words, until I managed to choke out a strangled sounding, "No."

"What?"

"No," I repeated, stronger this time. "Chiron, those earth-bounds almost killed us. We can't fight them. We can barely protect _ourselves_, let alone everyone else!"

"Annabeth…" Percy began, and I turned on him, irritated.

"You think we should risk our skins over this, too? Percy, they almost _killed _us! We can't go out there again!" Percy fell silent, not meeting my gaze. I heard his unspoken message, though; _If we can't do this, our parents can't find the stone. And if they can't find the stone, we're all doomed anyway. _

"Annabeth," Chiron said gently. "Your family needs you. Your mother needs you." I didn't meet his gaze- my mom? Sure, I knew why she left, but it still hurt. I wasn't sure I _wanted _to help her.

_Annabeth, _scolded the sensible part of me. _You're being ridiculous. This isn't about just you and your mom. It's about your friends, too, and the rest of humanity._

"Fine," I said. "But I'm not doing this for her." I didn't need to explain what I meant.

* * *

I stared out at the lake, sitting on the pier with my knees tucked up against my chest. Chiron had told us that Camp Half-Blood would serve as our base to complete our training as Defenders. Only when we'd completed our training could we pick a Union name and make it official.

_A Union of our own_, I thought, staring at the clear water. _Is that really what we want? Is that what I want? _

"Hey," said a voice, startling me from my thoughts. I looked over to see Percy sit down next to me.

"Chiron told me to give this to you," he said, handing me a necklace. I took it from him, turning it over in my hands to examine it.

It was a simple leather band, but from it hung a small delicate silver owl. Next to it was a clay bead with a pencil and a notebook etched into it.

"What's this?" I asked, turning to my boyfriend.

"It's from your mom," he told me, staring intently at the lake. "All of us got one, but you left before Chiron could give you yours." For the first time, I noticed the necklace Percy wore.

Like mine, it was a leather band with one clay bead. Instead of a silver owl, though, his had a deep blue trident symbol on it.

"The charm represents our parent, and the bead is for the MIST Academy," Percy explained.

"Oh," I said, slipping the necklace on. The weight of it around my neck was reassuring, for some reason. Maybe because it was a reminder that my mom knew I existed, or maybe it reminded me that she'd been forced to leave me, and it hadn't been her choice. Or maybe it wasn't the charm, but the bead- a reminder that we'd gone through rough times before, and could do it again.

"You're ok with all this, right?" Percy asked suddenly, turning to examine me.

"With what?" I asked, not looking at him.

"All this," Percy said. "The Union thing. Us helping. Everything." I hesitated before answering. A moment ago, the honest answer would have been no. But now…

I fiddled with my necklace idly, staring at the lake intently. The necklace almost seemed like a reminder from my mom, that she was out there.

In the end, I quoted my own thoughts, saying, "We've been through rough times before. We can do it again." Percy just nodded, looking satisfied with my answer.

"Are you ok with it?" I asked suddenly. Now it was Percy's turn to look away.

"Does it matter?" He mumbled. "We don't really have a choice, do we?"

"No," I admitted. "We don't." His answer made me look at him from different eyes- maybe Percy wasn't as happy with this as he'd appeared to be back in the Big House. I didn't push it, though.

"We'll find a way," Percy said softly, more to himself than to me.

"I'm sure we will," I said, slipping my hand into his.

We sat that way together in peace until the sun set, casting everything into glow of color. Not talking, just enjoying being together.

After all, who knew when we'd get another peaceful moment again?

** And… there you have it! The secret is out! Well, except for the stone, but pretty much everything else is explained, I think. Now we can go back to some action chapters :) Reviewer's question: Out of curiosity, do you think you would have reacted the same way Annabeth did to the news? Just curious :) Also, if I have any Merlin fans reading this- I recently started my first Merlin Fanfic, so if you like Merlin, please check it out! Until next time! **


	10. Chapter 10

***Peeks around corner and laughs nervously* Oh, hey guys! Fancy seeing you here… with pitchforks… and rifles… um, bye? *Runs away. Mob chases after* Ok, ok! Fine! I'm sorry, ok? There. I said it. The wait was atrocious (it's been what? A month? More?) and I'm sorry. Don't give me that look, it's true! I'm sorry! How many times do I have to say it?! But, seriously guys, thanks for sticking with me through such a long wait. My excuse… hum… I've been busy? Yeah, that doesn't really make up for it, does it? Oh well. Hopefully this chapter will sort of make up for it. Shout outs: **

**Myusernameisorigional****- Aw, thank you! :) I actually did spend a **_**ton **_**of time working on the plot, so it's nice to have someone notice! And I'm so happy you like my Merlin fic… hopefully I'll be updating that one soon, too… :/ **

**Wisdom's daughter****- Yeah, school stinks. :( Thanks for sticking with me while I muddle through it, though! :) **

**Random Demigod****- Yup, action is always more fun to read a**_**nd **_**to write. The last chapter, although all dialogue, was necessary though. :/ Hopefully there'll be more action soon! :) **

**Chazaq****- Thank you! :) I tried to work in that "surprise visit" for you- I hope you like it! **

**CelticSun14****- THE MERLIN FINALE WAS A HEARTBREAKER YOUR SISTER DID YOU A FAVOR! I cried my eyes out, no joke. :( Anyways, but yeah, if you haven't seen it, you probably shouldn't read my Season 6 fanfic (talk about major spoilers!) But you could read "When Druids can't keep secrets" (which is a cliché type reveal fic.) I don't think I have any spoilers in that one… you don't have to, of course. Just me thinking out loud… or, typing out loud. Whatever :/ **

**Disclaimer: Even RR would update faster than me… and that's saying something! **

Percy's POV

_The fates hate me. _Yes. After all I'd discovered in the last 24 hours, _that _was what was running through my mind. Why was I thinking that, you ask? Allow me to explain.

You'd think the son of a god with superhuman powers and a major role in a supernatural secret war for human survival would be a good fighter, right? I mean, it made sense! But no. In the last 24 hours, I'd also conveniently discovered that I was more likely to impale _myself_ with a weapon than my _enemy_.

"Take a break!" Chiron called, yanking me from my thoughts.

"Thank gods," I muttered under my breath as I limped over to a stone bench outside the camp arena, collapsing down next to Annabeth. She gave a breathless laugh, shooting me a grin.

Of course Annabeth was a natural warrior. She'd quickly picked up fighting with a golden dagger that apparently had been a gift from her mother, and was pretty decent with a bow and arrow as well. She was also unfairly good at hand-to-hand combat- just my luck. I could just see her judo flipping me every time we argued.

I suspected she also liked having something physical to do to distract her from… well, everything, but I wasn't about to ask her about it. Even I had to admit this training Chiron insisted we do was far better than sitting around, knowing we'd have to fight earth-bounds on a regular basis soon.

"Percy!" Chiron called, motioning for me to join him in the center of the arena.

"Called out," whistled one of my friends, although I didn't see who. Walking up to Chiron, I shifted uneasily, mentally praying, _please not the bow and arrows again. Anything but that. _

"Since the other weapons aren't quite… up your ally… let's try something a little different, shall we?" He said, smiling at me as if he hadn't spent the last half hour detangling one of my stray arrows from another camper's hair.

"Different sounds good," I agreed, relieved.

"Have you done any sword play before?" Chiron asked, studying me.

"Well…" I hesitated, thinking of my pen/sword in my pocket. I _had _defeated one eath-bound with that, although it'd been more blind luck than anything else. Besides, I wasn't quite sure I was ready to tell Chiron about my dad's sword- my sword, now. "Not really," I admitted, figuring that was mostly true.

"I see," Chiron nodded. Somehow I got the feeling he knew I wasn't telling him everything, but if he did, he didn't press the matter. "Well, grab a wooden one off the rack and we'll go over the basics."

Grabbing a sword, I complied, honestly trying to get the techniques down. Maybe because I needed to be able to fight with _something. _Maybe because my dad had fought with a sword- whatever the reason, I did my best to pay attention for once.

A half hour later, Chiron leaned back in his wheel chair, looking satisfied.

"Well, my boy, I think we've finally found your niche," he told me, looking relieved and almost… impressed. "I do believe you could be an excellent sword fighter with a balanced sword and a little more practice."

"Yessir," I grinned, unable to hide my satisfaction. _Finally_, something I could do!

-Line Break-

"Percy. _Percy! _PERCY!"

"AH!" I cried, jerking upright and blinking my eyes open. Instinctively, I reached for my pen, only to discover it wasn't there. I was lying on a cold marble floor in the middle of a huge stone-white room, with tall ceilings that made everything echo. The room was empty, except for me and a middle-aged man with a sun-tanned face, black hair, and green eyes, like mine.

"Who are you?" I asked, scrambling to my feet. "Where am I?"

"You're back at Camp," the man told me, "sleeping. This is only a dream, Perseus, relax."

"How do you know my name?" I asked warily. After everything I'd been through, normally when someone knew your name they wanted to kill you. At my question, the man looked almost sad.

"As your father, I helped name you. I'd hope I'd remember that much," he told me, watching my reaction. I froze, shock running through me. _My Dad? This guy was my dad? _

Most people probably would have started yelling about 'how dare you abandon me' and what not, but what ended up coming out of my mouth was, "Uh, it's Percy, actually. I go by Percy."

"I see," the man- my dad- nodded. "You're so…"

_Oh man, _I groaned mentally. _I've only known my dad for a couple of minutes, and he's already disappointed in me. Great. _

"… Grown up," Poseidon finished.

_Oh. Not disappointed, then. _

"Um, thanks," I muttered. This would definitely make my list of top 10 awkward situations I'd been in. What was I supposed to say to the guy who'd walked out of my life before I was even born, leaving my mom to raise me by myself? Even if I knew his reason now, I couldn't help feeling a little mad.

"Listen Percy, we don't have much time," my dad said, a strange urgency finding its way into his voice. "Zeus will detect that I'm sending you a dream soon, and he most likely won't be happy."

"You're _sending _me this dream? How is that even possible?"

"It's an ability we all have- even you and your friends, although I doubt you've learned to control it yet. But that's not important right now."

"Not important?! But-"

"Percy! Listen to me! If something goes wrong on our mission-"

"You mean your mission to get that stone thing," I interrupted, trying to act like I knew what was going on. I probably should have kept my mouth shut, though, because Poseidon paled and stared at me like I'd grown an extra head.

"What do you know about the stone?" He asked carefully, his eyes never leaving my face, gauging my reaction.

"Not much," I admitted. "I know that you and your Union are going to look for it, and that it's important the Titans don't get it. But that's about it."

"You don't know your part in- no, of course not. How could you? Good," he nodded, speaking more to himself then me.

"My part in what?" I asked suspiciously; dread trickling down my spine for some reason.

"Nothing," Poseidon said, too quickly. "Listen, Percy, if we fail, you must _not _go to the Titans. No matter what, go nowhere near their camp. Understand?"

"Why would I go to their Camp?" I asked, confused. "They want to kill me."

"They don't want to kill you. At least, not yet," Poseidon said gravely.

"What? But Kronos-"

"Wasn't trying to kill you," my dad interrupted. "He wanted you sedated, ignorant. Maybe even injured, to keep you manageable. But not dead. When the time was right, he would have taken you to their Camp."

"Why?" I asked, fear creeping through me despite myself.

"Promise me you won't try to be a hero. Don't go to their Camp."

"Why would I-"

"Percy! Promise me!" Poseidon snapped, with real fear in his eyes. That was enough to terrify me.

"I promise!" I said quickly, and my dad immediately relaxed.

"Thank you," he said, giving a small sigh, suddenly looking very tired. "This is different than when you were at the MIST Academy, Percy. There was like a game, a way to keep you contained. Now, you're free. And that scares them. They need a way to control you, and they will do _anything_ to reach that goal. Even hurt the people you love."

My mind immediately flashed to my friends, my mom, and Annabeth, and I felt like I might be sick.

"They wouldn't-"

"They would. You have to play your cards right, son, or you friend's lives- and the world- will be over. Train hard. You don't have as long to prepare as you think you do."

Then my dream spiraled into darkness, leaving me with a new burden on my shoulders and a face to put with the name "dad".

** There! I was nice! No cliffy! Well, not really… that doesn't count. Not really. There's a semi-brief action scene next chapter! Yay! I'll try to update soon… maybe… :/ Reviewer's question: SO, WHO'S EXCITED FOR HOUSE OF HADES? :D I know I am! Until next time! **


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